In My Corner
by RedLion2
Summary: After Sam has a bad day, Danny chases her down to talk. DxS


I do not own _Danny Phantom_. It belongs solely to its creator, Butch Hartman.

I have just recently started watching _Danny Phantom_, and this is my first fan story about the show. I hope you all enjoy!

In My Corner

"I am not a loser," Sam Manson whispered to herself as Paullina and her cheerleader clones walked away, giggling and acting superior. Sam had never before listened to anything the popular set said, had never cared either, for that matter. But constantly hearing herself associated with "loser" was becoming a real downer.

Especially when she'd heard her own parents whispering the word in the kitchen the night before. And using it in reference to her. She knew she was different from her typical suburban parents. She liked the color black. Okay, loved it. She liked short outfits, and dark makeup. Well, darkness in general. But did that really make her a loser?

"Hey Sam!"

The one voice that could almost always cheer her up reached her ears, and she glanced behind her to see Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley, her two best friends, walking toward her.

"Hey, Sam," Danny repeated once they had reached her. He took note of her somewhat haggard appearance and frowned. "You okay? You look like death!" Then he and Tucker laughed, like it was the cleverest joke in the world.

Well, not to her.

Not today.

"Funny, Fenton," she snapped and turned away. Her boot heels clicked on the slick floor as she strode down the hall.

"Aw, come on, Sam. It was funny," Tucker protested as he and Danny followed, the latter wondering what he'd said to make Sam so mad.

"Yeah. That's why I'm laughing." Sam wished they would just go away. She really didn't need them harassing her. She'd gotten enough of that already. "Look, just leave me alone, okay?" she finally said, spinning on her heel to glare at the two boys.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Danny asked, finally realizing that she was serious. He ran a hand through the mess of black hair on his head as he eyed her.

Sam sighed. "Nothing." She walked away, her head tucked to her chest, her violet eyes downcast.

"Gees, what's her problem?" Tucker asked, a disturbed note in his voice.

"I don't know. But we're gonna be late for class," Danny said. His sky blue eyes were narrowed in thought.

"Yeah. See ya!" Tucker hurried off, and Danny headed to his English class, his thoughts centered on Sam. Something was definitely wrong with her.

And he would definitely find out what it was.

**He's a Phantom!**

"Samantha! Just look at this room!" Mrs. Manson screeched later that afternoon. Sam looked up from her book and shrugged. She was used to her mom's ranting. "I'm serious! Clean this place up!"

"Or what?" Sam didn't feel like giving in.

Mrs. Manson's eyes widened. "Excuse me, little girl?"

Sam sighed and set her book down. Why couldn't she ever get any peace? Even in her own room, there was no solitude, no rest. "Okay, Mom. Gees!"

Mrs. Manson huffed and patted her hair. "You need to learn respect, Samantha. And your attitude is horrible. I think maybe you should be grounded."

"What!" Sam's ebony head snapped around to face her mom. "Why? I didn't do anything!" she hotly protested.

"Well..." Mrs. Manson's features relaxed. Her daughter did have a valid point. "Fine. But clean up this mess!" Then she was gone, leaving Sam's door wide open. Sam growled and slammed the door shut, wishing she could lock it. Sometimes, she wished she could lock her entire life, and keep everyone out.

Everyone, maybe, except...

_No. Don't think about him. He doesn't feel for me like I do for him. He's all about Paullina. Or even Valerie. _Sam swallowed back a lump that had risen quickly in her throat. She started cleaning her room, which only took a few minutes. She liked having her room be pretty clean. It gave her mom less to gripe about.

Two hours later, unable to concentrate on her book, she left the house. Her parents had gone to some parent meeting, and she hadn't wanted to awaken her grandma for company. And being out, with dusk starting to rise up all around her, was quite soothing.

She found herself near Amity Park, and a slight shiver wended through her delicate frame. She couldn't help but remember jumping the Circus Gothika train with Tucker so they could free Danny from Freakshow's spell. Sam stopped, thinking about how she'd been forced off the train, and how Danny had swooped down in ghost form and saved her from a horrible death.

_Danny. Why is it so hard to tell him how I really feel? _Sam snorted and started walking again. She already knew the answer to the question. She could never tell him because it would wreck their great friendship, and it would destroy her to not be a part of his life.

"Sam!"

She gasped and spun around, her breath coming in frightened little pants, her right hand flying to her chest. "Danny! You scared me!"

"Sorry." Danny floated down and landed in front of her, immediately changing back to human form.

Sam took a deep calming breath and looked Danny in the eyes – and then wished she hadn't. His eyes were beautiful. "So, what's up?" she asked, hoping she sounded off-handed, like she didn't care. Because in truth, she cared too much.

Danny studied her for several seconds. "Sam, you've been avoiding me all day. I went to your house and you weren't there, obviously. What's going on with you?" There was concern in his tenor voice, causing Sam to blush and look at the ground.

"Nothing, Danny. I just needed some time alone," she told him quietly, wishing that were true, because she hated lying to him. But she didn't want to tell him what was really the problem.

"Sam, I know you're lying. Come on. Tell me," he said, his eyes narrowing as his voice dropped in temperature. "I'm your best friend, remember?"

"How could I forget, Danny? You're always reminding me!" Sam yelled and turned away from him. "Just leave me alone."

"Sam!" Danny reached out and grabbed her forearm, turning her to face him. "You're starting to freak me—"

"Oh, little loser Goth girl is freaking you out? Well, big surprise, Fenton! I freak _everybody_ out! So if you're freaked out, why don't you just leave? Why don't you go hang out with Tucker? Just forget about me!" Sam hadn't meant for her emotions to burst forth like this. She couldn't stop the tears that now clouded her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She turned and started to run; her tirade had shocked Danny, and he'd let go of her arm.

But now, having heard and seen the pain she was in, he scowled in frustration. "I'm going ghost!" he called out, the familiar white ring splitting at his trim waist and enfolding him so he could become Danny Phantom, the ghost chaser. "Sam! Wait!" he yelled, flying after her, his lime green eyes narrowed in concentration.

Sam kept running, pushing herself. She'd just alienated Danny, and she thought there couldn't be anything worse than that. How could she go on without him as her best friend?

"Sam." Danny landed in front of her, causing her to trip and pitch forward, but it was not the hard ground that broke her fall. It was Danny's strong arms, catching her about the waist, holding her to him tightly. Sam recovered her balance and pushed back a little from him, his arms falling to his sides. "Sam? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he said, changing back. "Will you tell me what's really wrong?"

Sam sniffed and wiped her tears away, hoping her makeup wasn't totally ruined. "I-I heard my parents talking last night in the kitchen. They called me a...loser." The word was choking her, crawling from her throat like some grotesque bug.

Danny's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure? Why would they—"

"Why _wouldn't _they, Danny? Think about it. They're the perfect suburban parents. I'm a freakin' Goth girl! And besides, it's not like no one else calls me loser," Sam said, feeling her tears welling up again.

Danny's features softened. "Come on, Sam. Your parents love you. Yeah, they might be a little misguided, but they care about you. As for everyone else," his eyes hardened to blue diamonds, "don't listen to them, okay? You are _not_ a loser. You're the coolest girl I know."

"Really?" Sam looked at him, into those blue eyes she knew so well, and smiled for the first time since the night before. "You aren't just saying that? To cheer me up?"

"Hey, come on. You know I wouldn't just make that up," Danny said gently. He reached up, hesitantly at first, and took her hand. "Sam, what other girl would help me capture ghosts? Or go to all the trouble to cover for me when I need it? You're my—"

"Best friend," she finished, feeling suddenly wooden inside. Even the fact that he was holding her hand wasn't enough to brighten the feeling of total letdown.

Danny frowned. "You don't like being my best friend?"

"No, I do, Danny. I just..."

"Just what?" he prodded. He still had hold of her hand, and it felt really good. Great, actually. His cheeks started to warm.

"Um..." Sam knew she couldn't stall much longer. "Danny, I...like you. A lot. A-and..." All of the memories she had of him, of them together, began flooding her mind. Every happy time she'd ever had was because of him. All the fun, danger, excitement...

"Sam?"

She looked at him, suddenly realizing that she had to look _up_ a little. Danny had begun growing taller than her over the past few months. It was funny she'd never noticed that before. "Yeah?"

"I like you too. A lot." Danny squeezed her hand, and Sam blushed. Could he tell how she really felt? Or was this just a coincidence? "Wanna go for a flight?"

"Sure." Sam smiled as Danny went ghost, and wrapped her arm around his waist as he put his arm around hers. They lifted off gently, and Sam felt that familiar thrill in the pit of her stomach.

"Hold on tight," Danny whispered, and his own hold grew stronger, drawing her closer to his side.

"I will," Sam whispered back and closed her eyes. She had complete trust in him. They flew for quite awhile, Sam enjoying the closeness with Danny. She knew she wouldn't get this opportunity again for awhile.

"Open your eyes," Danny encouraged softly, and when she did, they were hovering just feet above the roof of her house. "I didn't want your parents to find out you were gone too late," he explained, blushing. "Hope that's okay."

"It's fine."

Danny went intangible and carried Sam into her room, setting her down gently on the floor. She smiled at him, and his chest all at once began to hurt, and he knew that what he'd begun feeling lately for Sam went way beyond some stupid crush, like he'd had on both Valerie and Paullina. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay now?" His voice was soft and low, partly so that the Mansons didn't hear him, and mostly for her benefit. He wasn't leaving until he knew for sure that she would be okay.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for coming after me," she said, sitting down on her bed. Danny hesitated for a second before sitting next to her and reaching for her hand again. Sam, surprised, looked at him, and she saw the look in his lime green eyes, a look that previously had been reserved for Paullina. But even now, the look was intensely different, somehow deeper and more concentrated.

"D-Danny?"

"Sam, I care about you. A lot. You, you're my best friend. And, and maybe you'll be more. I mean, I want you to be more. What do you—" He was cut off by her finger touching his lips. His eyes widened.

"Danny, I want to be more, too. I think you're great. Really great. But maybe we should take it slow," Sam said gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Inside, she was singing. Maybe not some hearts and rainbows song, but she was happy. Danny felt like she did.

He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze. "Okay. But don't ever forget how I feel, okay? And if someone calls you names, I'll kick their butt," he declared fiercely.

"Um, actually you'd scare them," Sam said, gesturing with her free hand toward him. Danny glanced down and blushed. He was still in ghost-form. He stood up, knowing he needed to get going. He couldn't afford to miss his ten o'clock curfew again.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, letting go of her hand. Sam got up and hugged him tightly, and on a whim, stood a little on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. Danny nearly toppled in shock, but managed to keep his feet. "Um, what was that for?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"For being you, Danny," she whispered. He smiled and hugged her, hard, then slowly floated away, passing through her closed bedroom window and out into the rapidly-cooling night air. Sam watched him until he'd faded from view, and she smiled to herself, knowing now, without a doubt, that she would never feel so depressed again.

She had Danny Fenton in her corner.

**Going Ghost!**

A/N: Hopefully you've enjoyed this little one-shot. I would love if you'd leave me a review, and tell me what you think. I plan to do a longer D.P. story, involving some really nasty ghosts.

Thanks,

Red


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